A lawyer representing Proview International on Monday announced that the Intermediate People’s Court in Huizhou, a city in southern China, ruled on Friday that distributors should stop selling iPads in China, Associated Press reports. Proview has claimed ownership of the “iPad” name in China and it says Apple is violating its trademark. “We bought Proview’s worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter,” Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said earlier in response to the lawsuits. Proview is looking to prevent Apple from importing or exporting the popular tablet in China and may sue the Cupertino-based company for as much as $2 billion in the United States. At least 45 iPads had been pulled from store shelves in various Chinese cities last week, however Apple’s tablets were still being sold at numerous retail locations across the country.

Read

On Monday, Apple announced that the Fair Labor Association would be conducting audits of facilities managed by its Chinese suppliers. Foxconn Technology Group, whose factories manufacture the iPad, has come under fire after a rash of worker suicides, fatal explosions and allegations of poor working conditions. Working conditions at Foxconn, however, were found to be far better than other facilities throughout the country, reported Reuters. “The facilities are first-class; the physical conditions are way, way above average of the norm,” said FLA president Auret van Heerden. “I was very surprised when I walked onto the floor at Foxconn, how tranquil it is compared with a garment factory. So the problems are not the intensity and burnout and pressure-cooker environment you have in a garment factory. It’s more a function of monotony, of boredom, of alienation perhaps.” Roughly 30 FLA staff members will be visiting two Foxconn factories in southern China and one in the central city of Chengdu. Over the course of three weeks, the FLA will conduct anonymous interviews with 35,000 workers who will be questioned about pay, living conditions, emotional condition and management. In addition to Foxconn, the FLA will investigate facilities belonging to Quanta Computer, Pegatron and Wintek.

Read

It appears Tuesday's massive solar eruption is already impacting communications in southern China and may disrupt satellites in orbit and electrical grids on the ground over the next few days. The X-class flare is the most powerful seen in four years. More »